PAUL H. O'NEILL
Name: Paul Henry O'Neill
Born: 4 December 1935 St. Louis, Missouri
Paul Henry O'Neill (born December 4, 1935) served as the 72nd United States
Secretary of the Treasury for part of President George W. Bush's first
Administration. He resigned in December 2002 under pressure from the
administration and became a harsh critic. O'Neill was chairman and CEO of
Pittsburgh-based industrial giant Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, and retired as
chairman at the end of 2000. In 1995, he was made chairman of the RAND
Corporation.
O'Neill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, although his "hometown" and current
residence is Pittsburgh. He met his wife at Anchorage High School in Anchorage,
Alaska, from which they both graduated in 1954. He lived on the military base
there with his parents. He received a bachelor's degree in Economics from
California State University, Fresno a degree in economics from Claremont
Graduate University in 1961, and a Master of Public Administration from Indiana
University. O'Neill and his wife Nancy have four children and 12 grandchildren.
He began his public service as a computer systems analyst with the Veterans
Administration, where he served from 1961 to 1966. He joined the United States
Office of Management and Budget in 1967, and was deputy director of OMB from
1974 to 1977. After President Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, O'Neill took
an executive job at the International Paper Company in New York City. He was
vice president of the company from 1977 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1987.
In 1988, he was approached by President George H. W. Bush to be Secretary of
Defense. O'Neill declined, but recommended Dick Cheney for the position. Bush
then pursued O'Neill to chair an advisory group on education that included Lamar
Alexander, Bill Brock, and Richard Riley. Under O'Neill's leadership, the group
recommended national standards and unified testing standards.
O'Neill was chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh industrial giant Alcoa from 1987
to 1999, and retired as chairman at the end of 2000. His reign was extremely
successful, as the company's revenues increased from $1.5 billion in 1987 to $23
billion in 2000 and O'Neill's personal fortune grew to $60 million.
In 1995, O'Neill was made chairman of the RAND Corporation.
In December 1997, O'Neill together with Karen Wolk Feinstein, President of the
Jewish Healthcare Foundation, founded the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare
Initiative (PRHI). They assembled a wide-ranging coalition of healthcare
interests to begin to address the problems of healthcare, as a region. PRHI
adapted the principles of the Toyota Production System into the "Perfecting
Patient Care" system. Mr. O'Neill became a leader locally and nationally in
addressing issues of patient safety and quality in healthcare.
O'Neill was also pegged by Mayor Tom Murphy as a co-leader of Pittsburgh's
Riverlife Task Force, along with the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In 2005, O'Neill entered closed-door meetings with the Pittsburgh Gambling Task
Force to help them reach a "no-endorsement" stance on what casino to recommend.
(News from June 1, 2006)
Name: Paul Henry O'Neill
Born: 4 December 1935 St. Louis, Missouri
Paul Henry O'Neill (born December 4, 1935) served as the 72nd United States
Secretary of the Treasury for part of President George W. Bush's first
Administration. He resigned in December 2002 under pressure from the
administration and became a harsh critic. O'Neill was chairman and CEO of
Pittsburgh-based industrial giant Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, and retired as
chairman at the end of 2000. In 1995, he was made chairman of the RAND
Corporation.
O'Neill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, although his "hometown" and current
residence is Pittsburgh. He met his wife at Anchorage High School in Anchorage,
Alaska, from which they both graduated in 1954. He lived on the military base
there with his parents. He received a bachelor's degree in Economics from
California State University, Fresno a degree in economics from Claremont
Graduate University in 1961, and a Master of Public Administration from Indiana
University. O'Neill and his wife Nancy have four children and 12 grandchildren.
He began his public service as a computer systems analyst with the Veterans
Administration, where he served from 1961 to 1966. He joined the United States
Office of Management and Budget in 1967, and was deputy director of OMB from
1974 to 1977. After President Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, O'Neill took
an executive job at the International Paper Company in New York City. He was
vice president of the company from 1977 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1987.
In 1988, he was approached by President George H. W. Bush to be Secretary of
Defense. O'Neill declined, but recommended Dick Cheney for the position. Bush
then pursued O'Neill to chair an advisory group on education that included Lamar
Alexander, Bill Brock, and Richard Riley. Under O'Neill's leadership, the group
recommended national standards and unified testing standards.
O'Neill was chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh industrial giant Alcoa from 1987
to 1999, and retired as chairman at the end of 2000. His reign was extremely
successful, as the company's revenues increased from $1.5 billion in 1987 to $23
billion in 2000 and O'Neill's personal fortune grew to $60 million.
In 1995, O'Neill was made chairman of the RAND Corporation.
In December 1997, O'Neill together with Karen Wolk Feinstein, President of the
Jewish Healthcare Foundation, founded the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare
Initiative (PRHI). They assembled a wide-ranging coalition of healthcare
interests to begin to address the problems of healthcare, as a region. PRHI
adapted the principles of the Toyota Production System into the "Perfecting
Patient Care" system. Mr. O'Neill became a leader locally and nationally in
addressing issues of patient safety and quality in healthcare.
O'Neill was also pegged by Mayor Tom Murphy as a co-leader of Pittsburgh's
Riverlife Task Force, along with the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In 2005, O'Neill entered closed-door meetings with the Pittsburgh Gambling Task
Force to help them reach a "no-endorsement" stance on what casino to recommend.
(News from June 1, 2006)